The Emerald Fire*
By: SilverPhoenixWings
A/N: I'll hurry up and get
right into the next chapter, but I must issue a severe warning. THIS CHAPTER IS
NOT FLUFF, METAPHORS, OR PRANKS AS STANDARD IN THIS STORY. This chapter is a
crucial one, but it broke my heart to write it.
Dedication: To Sierra Charm,
beta-reader and nifty friend.
Empty Window Panes, Greenish tints, and Humble Hopes
A pounding on the window made her jump. "Who could that be?" she walked over to the window and drew back the curtains. She screamed when she saw what was on the other side…
Emily's
eyes widened. 'Horrible' was the word that sped through her mind. She
had seen pictures, but never had anything prepared her for this. A cloaked
figure charmed the glass from the window and stepped inside. An aura of
darkness swept over the room as the figure stepped toward Liane. Ghostly hands
drew back the hood to reveal a sub-human face; contorted with red eyes and an
unreal bone structure. Voldemort stood before the girls.
Liane
screamed again. Emily heard the words of a silencing charm flood from the Dark
Lord's mouth and at Liane. Her next shrieked was muffled and unintelligible.
"Stupid
Mudblood." He hissed.
"What
do you want?" Emily demanded, with as much courage as she could muster.
"I want
the bird."
"You
can't have her." Liane whispered.
"I
can't? I can't?" Voldemort asked mockingly.
"Why
are you even bothering with us? You could just waltz in here and 'Avada
Kedavra' us and take the bird at your bidding." Emily sneered.
"I
could."
"Then
why don't you?" Emily retorted, testing her limits. Voldemort actually laughed.
Emily and Liane shivered simultaneously at the falsetto ringing that had
reached their ears.
"Silly
girl."
Callie
and Remus rushed up the stairs and into the girls' dormitory. Callie cried out.
The glass from the window was completely gone; no trace to be found. Aisling
was sitting on the windowsill, looking out into the night air. A green tint
flooded the room, but by far the oddest thing was the lack of anything else. Callie
had expected, one day in her life, to walk into a scene like this and see her
friends lying lifeless on the floor. But she did not see her friends. On the
floor sat a single piece of parchment.
Picking
it up, Callie read aloud:
Callie,
we're sorry. He wanted Aisling. We said 'no'. Oh, Callie. We're sorry…Callie,
forgive us please. Callie collapsed
on the floor and rocked back and forth. Remus knelt beside her and finished the
letter silently to himself while hugging her.
Callie,
we hope it doesn't look to awful. I've always wondered what it would be like to
die…I can't scream. Remus swallowed
the lump that was forming in his throat. He silently thought that Voldemort
must have tortured them, because their words lacked lucidity.
James
and Sirius sat in Dumbledore's office, across from a distraught-looking Callie
and a silent Remus. Lily and Jen had just come into the conference, and
McGonagall and Hagrid were standing behind Dumbledore.
"Girls
and boys, today while the students were enjoying a Hogsmeade trip, Voldemort
came to the Gryffindor dorms in attempt to steal Ms. O'Reilly's phoenix. Sadly,
two of your classmates, Emily and Liane, seemed to have disappeared instead."
Dumbledore looked grave. "I am making no assumptions as to their condition, but
the minister has been owled."
McGonagall
cleared her throat.
"The
phoenix has many powers and charms upon it. We have contacted a Language
Specialist to attempt to speak to it, to fully understand. The Specialist will
be arriving in a week, seeing as how he is on another job right now. Please do
not jump to conclusions until then." McGonagall sighed and left the office.
Hagrid motioned James and Sirius out, without letting them speak. Jen patted
Callie's back and ushered her out as well. Remus followed reluctantly, but Lily
held her ground. Once she was sure that the others were well gone, she spoke
quietly.
"Professor,
do you really think the girls are okay?" she asked. Dumbledore looked up,
giving her that familiar twinkle in his eye.
"Ms.
Evans, although I hold out hope, no one has survived Voldemort and returned as
their old selves. I hope that this is the exception."
A/N: That was a short,
transitional part. I sort of wimped out and left it open. Are they dead? Or
not? What do you think? Tell me please.